1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a flint type lighter, and more particularly to a lighter incorporated with an improved ignition system for preventing under age children from the usage of the lighter. Thus, no residue of the flint will stick on an adult""s thumb after the ignition of the lighter.
2. Description of Related Arts
Modem butane lighters have become very popular, especially the flint type lighters since they are economy and cheap, easy operation, and easy to fight the fire.
However, the conventional flint type lighters have drawbacks in their usage. During the ignition of the lighter, a spark wheel must be rotated in order to strike a spark when a pusher button is depressed for releasing gas. When the quality of the flint is poor, the spark generated may not strong enough for ignition. Moreover, the actions of rotating the spark wheel and depressing the pusher button are not in on continuous motion leads to different operational results depending on the users. Moreover, when the sparks wheel gives friction to the flint in order to strike a spark, the residue of the flint will remain on the spark wheel of the lighter. So, during rotating the spark wheel, the residue of the flint may stick on an adult""s thumb. In worse circumstance, the user may repeat to rotate the spark wheel when failure ignition, the user""s thumb may get painful and dirty as well. Although the conventional flint type lighters are cheap and in usual shape, it is desirable to improve their drawbacks for more practical use.
Nowadays, a piezoelectric lighter is getting more popular wherein the piezoelectric lighter comprises a piezoelectric unit for generating piezoelectricity. The user can merely depress the pusher button in order to ignite the lighter. However, the piezoelectric unit is widely used in a high class lighter but it is not widely used in a disposable lighter because the cost of the piezoelectric unit, especially the good quality piezoelectric unit, is too high to install in the disposable lighter. The use of the piezoelectric lighter is still restricted in certain circumstances. So, an alternative is sought for.
An improved flint type disposable lighter comprises a striker blade for substituting the conventional spark wheel to strike a spark against the flint. In order to ignite such disposable lighter, the user must apply a radial pulling force on the pusher button to pull the striker blade outwardly in such a manner that the spark will be generated through a mutual friction between the striker blade and the flint to ignite the lighter. So, in the ignition process, the user""s thumb will not directly in contact with the striker blade so as to prevent the residue of the flint stunk on the user""s thumb. However, the spark may not strong enough to ignite the emitting gas which leads the failure ignition of the lighter. So, the user may merely to ignite the lighter repeatedly.
Furthermore, it is now required a safety device for preventing under age children form the usage of the lighter. The present invention provides not only a safety arrangement avoiding the lighter to be ignited accidentally but also a solution to solve the drawbacks set forth above.
A main object of the present invention is to provide a lighter incorporated with an improved ignition system wherein no residue of the flint will stick on an adult""s thumb after the ignition of the lighter.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a lighter with an improved ignition system, wherein the ignition of the lighter requires a simple slide-down action to rotate the spark wheel instead of a conventional radial action. In other words, an adult""s thumb can simply apply a single depressing force on the pusher button to drive the spark wheel to rotate so as to ignite the lighter.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a lighter with an improved ignition system for preventing under age children from the usage of the lighter.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a lighter with an improved ignition system wherein the gas lever is frictionally actuated by the pusher button, not by the engagement, for releasing gas so as to prevent the distortion of the gas lever.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a lighter with an improved ignition system which is adapted to be installed to all kinds of flint type lighter.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a lighter with an improved ignition system which does not require to alter the original structure design of the flint type lighter, so as to minimize the manufacturing cost of incorporating the ignition system with every conventional flint type lighter having a pusher button.
Accordingly, in order to accomplish the above objects, the present invention provides a lighter, comprising:
a supporting frame comprising a casing having a liquefied gas chamber and a pusher cavity, a pair of supporting walls protruded on opposite sides of a ceiling of the casing, a gas lever pivotally supported between the two supporting walls, a gas emitting nozzle appearing from the ceiling of the casing and communicating with the liquefied gas chamber which is actuated by the gas lever for releasing gas, a flame regulator encircling with the gas emitting nozzle to control the flow of the gas through the gas emitting nozzle, and a windshield mounted on the ceiling of the casing for encircling the gas emitting nozzle; and
an ignition system, comprising:
a flint supported by a flint-spring wherein the flint and the flint-spring are received in a flint housing provided on the ceiling of the casing between the two supporting walls;
a striker wheel having a circumferential coarse striking surface positioned right above the flint being rotatably mounted between the two supporting walls by means of a wheel axle;
at least a driving wheel coaxially attached to a side of the striker wheel, wherein the driving wheel has a plurality of gear teeth spacedly provided on an outer circumferential surface thereof and a diameter larger than a diameter of the striker wheel;
a pusher button slidably disposed in the pusher cavity in a vertically movable manner;
at least a trigger protrusion outwardly protruded from a front wall of the pusher button wherein the trigger protrusion has at least an engaging tooth provided on an front end thereof and adapted for slidably engaging with the gear teeth of the driving wheel to drive the striker wheel to rotate; and
a resilient element normally retaining and urging the pusher button in an upper normal position wherein the resilient element has two ends biasing against the pusher button and the ceiling of the casing.
For actuating the lighter, the pusher button has a front slanted surface provided on a bottom portion of the front wall thereof wherein the front slanted surface of the pusher button is frictionally engaged with a bent-down depressing end of the gas lever in such a manner that when the pusher button is depressed downwardly, the depressing end of the gas lever is driven downwardly, so as to pivotally lift up the gas emitting nozzle for releasing gas.
In order to ignite the lighter, the pusher button must be instantaneously depressed to frictionally drive the depressing end of the gas lever for releasing gas. Simultaneously, the engaging tooth of the trigger protrusion is slidably engaged with the gear teeth of the driving wheel so as to drive the striker wheel to rotate. So, a spark will be generated through the mutual friction between the circumferential coarse striking surface of the striker wheel and the flint. When the depressing force applied on the pusher button is released, the resilient element will push the pusher button upward to its upper normal position.